How the Demonic Girl Was Forged

Having arranged to visit Xiahou Di with Xue Qingqiu that evening, Xue Mu felt he had already overstayed his welcome in her quarters, so he took his leave to return to his own bamboo building to rest.

Yue Xiaochan walked alongside him as they departed. Standing on the upper floor, Xue Qingqiu watched their retreating figures in silence, making no move to stop them this time.

She understood Xue Mu's character all too well by now. He might possess the lecherous nature common to all men, but he held his own strategies in his heart and possessed sufficient composure. He knew what could be done and what could not; he would never touch a dragon's reverse scale.

Yue Xiaochan's current romantic entanglements were precisely such a reverse scale.

Yue Xiaochan knew it, and Xue Mu knew it, so there was essentially no need to worry about the matter.

However, reflecting on the intentions Xue Mu had revealed toward her, Xue Qingqiu found it somewhat amusing. He was truly a man of boundless audacity, yet he had managed to strike a chord within her, leaving her feeling both vexed and amused.

The remark she had used to tease Xue Mu earlier was a sincere one—her divine art was complete, and she did not share Yue Xiaochan's constraints. In other words, she truly could take a man for herself. It was just that neither she nor anyone else in the sect had ever entertained such a notion; Xue Mu's covetousness had, conversely, stirred that very thought within her.

Setting Xue Mu aside, she was, at the very least, capable of finding a suitable man.

One who was like-minded, possessed sufficient strength, could be of help to her, and was reliable enough.

What a pity, though; such a person... essentially did not exist.

To say nothing of the rest, take the first requirement alone... what normal person could be like-minded with a demoness notorious throughout the world? Even if one existed, he could only be from the Demonic Path. To be honest, although she herself was of the Demonic Path, Xue Qingqiu knew all too well that the character of those in the Demonic Path was hardly trustworthy. If they were to truly unite, it might bring a cataclysmic disaster upon the Star Moon Sect, leaving behind only endless regret.

This was also the key factor in why Xue Qingqiu believed that once love took root, it often led to tragedy. Men who met her requirements barely existed, and once feelings were involved, it was either a case of mutual destruction or internal strife within the sect; there was no third possibility.

Just as she was thinking this, the retreating back of Xue Mu caught her eye once more. Was this the third possibility?

Xue Qingqiu stared for a long moment, smiled faintly, and then shook her head. He was too weak...

To put it bluntly, he couldn't even break her maidenhead.

A man this weak, even if his wisdom were as deep as the sea, would at most earn her admiration; he could never spark a fire, let alone move her heart.

Forget it. Most past sect masters had lived out their lives in solitude; perhaps she was destined to repeat that path. This was fate; why force it? Xue Qingqiu turned away with indifference and sat cross-legged on her couch. With her iron-willed resolve, she easily banished these miscellaneous thoughts, quickly entering a state of ethereal calm.

Yue Xiaochan and Xue Mu strolled through the bamboo forest once more.

The bamboo shadows were the same, and the breeze was just as warm and fragrant, yet the atmosphere they had shared earlier was nowhere to be found.

It felt as if a long time had passed, though both knew it had only been a single morning.

"Uncle..."

Yue Xiaochan still used this form of address, and it seemed to roll off her tongue even more naturally now. Xue Mu did not refute it this time, merely responding with a hum.

Yue Xiaochan kicked at the fallen leaves on the ground casually: "You aren't from the Joyous Union Sect, are you?"

Xue Mu was taken aback: "Why do you say that?"

Yue Xiaochan smiled: "Focusing on outward appearance and sensual pleasure rather than genuine affection from the heart. That is the most typical trait of the Joyous Union Sect. If you said you were a member of that sect, I wouldn't be surprised in the least."

Though she said this, Yue Xiaochan's tone remained casual. Clearly, she didn't truly consider Xue Mu a member of the Joyous Union Sect; it was merely a sentiment... closer to resentment. The point of her words was simply to chide Xue Mu for not having feelings for her, despite having nearly drawn her in.

"Ordinary mortals are just like that; it has nothing to do with the Joyous Union Sect." Xue Mu shook his head: "Before I met you all, I didn't even know what the Joyous Union Sect was."

Yue Xiaochan murmured: "Then... where on earth did you come from?"

This was a question she had asked when they first met, but Xue Mu had been vague, and Yue Xiaochan had not pressed the issue. Bringing it up again now was not out of suspicion regarding his identity, but a desire to understand more about the man who had disrupted her normal rhythm.

Xue Mu looked up at the swaying bamboo leaves above, and after a long silence, said: "Just consider me as having come from the heavens."

Yue Xiaochan laughed: "Can I interpret that as the heavens sending you to help Yu Gong?"

Xue Mu shook his head: "I believe there are many, many things I can do in this world. Helping the Star Moon Sect rise again is merely the starting point."

"What wild ambitions." Yue Xiaochan scraped her cheek: "Uncle knows nothing of this world."

Xue Mu smiled: "You can tell me."

Yue Xiaochan thought for a moment, then said earnestly: "Actually, Uncle appeared at the right time. A thousand years ago, the Hundred Schools contended, and the world was in chaos. That was truly a time when martial power decided everything. No matter how clever you were, you couldn't withstand someone who could topple cities with a single sword strike or destroy the world. While the world still reveres martial arts now, it is, after all, a time of peace. Someone like Uncle, filled with strange and wonderful ideas, has plenty of room to put them to use... well, at least they are quite effective for wooing girls. Didn't your niece almost get drawn in? If Master hadn't stopped it in time, and you had struck while the iron was hot with all your tricks, you might have actually had your way with me? Oh my... that would have been truly terrible..."

Xue Mu had been listening very seriously. It had started off sounding quite reasonable, but the tone shifted completely at the end, leaving him nearly stumbling in his stride. He said awkwardly: "Can we talk about something serious?"

By this point, they had left the bamboo forest, and Xue Mu's small bamboo building was vaguely visible. Yue Xiaochan stopped and smiled: "Serious, you say? The current situation in the world is more complex than ever before. Your niece is still young and cannot explain it clearly. You had better let our omnipotent Uncle learn it slowly for himself. Or... perhaps discuss it slowly with Master?"

Xue Mu felt a tug in his heart and looked at her intently. He felt there was a hidden meaning in Yue Xiaochan's words.

"As expected, I can't hide anything from Uncle. Why must you be so clever?" Yue Xiaochan sighed and smiled: "Your niece has decided that once Aunt Yin Ye emerges, I will leave the Capital City. It won't be that soon, though. Before I leave, I still hope the Hundred Flowers Garden matters we've been fussing over these past two days succeed. One should see things through to the end, shouldn't they? So, I'll have to rely on Uncle's brilliant plans for these next few days."

Xue Mu pursed his lips and remained silent.

Yue Xiaochan looked up to meet his gaze, still smiling, her eyes shimmering with a light that hid all her true intentions, making them impossible to read.

After a long while, Xue Mu sighed: "Where are you going?"

"To the south, to collect debts." Yue Xiaochan said languidly: "It is time for the name of Yue Xiaochan to spread across the world. Ten years of bitter training—wasn't it all for the sake of making a name for myself and shaking the world? I can't let Master shoulder everything alone... actually, she is very tired too... well... it would be quite nice if there were a man to cherish her..."

Xue Mu didn't know how to respond for a long time.

In just half a day, this little girl had changed. If she had previously been just a clever little girl whose thoughts were easy to see through, the Yue Xiaochan of this moment already possessed the aura of a demoness capable of stirring the world—her thoughts were elusive, unpredictable, and eerie.

Their martial path was truly strange; a mere shift in state of mind could cause someone to grow so much.

Yue Xiaochan did not wait for Xue Mu's reply, walking away with her hands behind her back, swaying with every step: "If Uncle truly has designs on my master, you had better put in some effort over these next two or three years. Otherwise... if you haven't succeeded by the time your niece grows up and returns, you'll have a headache on your hands."

By the end, "Uncle" had finally reverted to "you." As the stress fell on that word, her pacing steps suddenly lifted, and her snow-white sleeves fluttered as she drifted away, vanishing into the bamboo forest in an instant, like a sprite flickering through a dream.